“Built in 1971, the five-bedroom, 7,158-square-foot contemporary-style house at 15216 Antelo Place in Bel-Air was built by Chamberlain, who lived there until his death in 1999. TV writers George Meyer and Maria Semple purchased the house from Chamberlain’s estate in 2002 for nearly $3 million, and have owned it ever since. The house has attracted much attention over the years—both with this listing and in 2000-2002, when Chamberlain’s estate was trying to unload it, first for $7.45 million and later reducing its asking price to $4.38 million. The house’s unconventional (some might say tacky) features include a gold-lined hot tub, a retractable mirrored ceiling above the master bed, a swimming pool that flows into the living room, walls of glass, 40-foot ceilings, a wrap-around pool, and a balcony suspended over the living room, according to listing information. Other features include five and a half baths and teak finishes, according to listing information.

The house sits on a 2.58-acre parcel that has ocean and city views, according to public records and listing information.”

Here we have a home designed and built 63 years ago (1947) by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (designed by William Friedman and Hilde Reiss, Walker staff members, and local architect Malcolm Lein). It was part of a program to demonstrate the museum director’s “art-in-use” belief that a house should be art and that art could be functional.
In 1948, Life magazine selected an average American family to live in the house and provide feedback on modern living. The Stensrud family (Rockwell, Janet, Susan & Rocky Jr), moved from their conventional home to live modern for a week.
Even though they had issues with some elements of modernism, such as not enough decoration, it seems that they were taken by the openness and the connection with the outdoors. It made them realize that their traditional home was poorly planned with dark, boxy rooms.
What I like about this house is that there are no futuristic gadgets or unobtainable materials. It is a straightforward demonstration of what modern architecture in houses could be. It’s a shame that got lost somewhere.
I wonder if this could be done today? It seems strange, but an average 21st Century family living in a traditional home would probably have the same experience if they lived for a week in a modern house.
Enjoy the pictures and the articles below. The first set is from the Oct. 18, 1948 issue of Life with photos by Joseph Scherschel. The second set comes out of McCall’s Book of Modern Homes (1951).

Click on the pics for the whole set on Flickr, where you can view much larger versions:

From the pages of Ebony, August 1963 is phototour of Willie Mays‘ mod house. It’s interesting to see the mix of styles in here, particularly Willie’s bedroom. It goes to show that not everyone who lived in a Modern home filled it with furniture by Eames, Nelson, Knoll, etc.

The home was constructed by speculative builder Al Maisin and even though the article says an architect was involved they don’t mention his name.

The house still exists, but I couldn’t find any other details. Here’s what Google Maps shows. I’ve included some snapshots from Google at the bottom of the page.

Update: Still for sale, but with a new realtor who is marketing it without the mention of being a teardown.

Well the realtor certainly thinks so. I haven’t seen this neat example of Mid Century architecture in person, so I can’t vouch for it 100%, but the available pics make it look pretty well taken care of.

This California-style ranch, built in 1960, is a rare find in the Atlanta area. Even more interesting is that it appears much of the original detail is still intact. It would be a shame to see a soulless McMansion taking its place. Hopefully, the slow housing market and the $975K $895K asking price will prevent a developer from knocking down this gem.

The Art Institute of Chicago has a large collection of transcripts of interviews with 20th Century architects “who shaped the physical environment in Chicago and surrounding communities”. Many of them are mid-century modernists who were well known in their day. Unfortunately, most have passed on and are becoming forgotten.

MidCentArc @ Flickr

From: House & Garden, 1954 Below are photos taken around 2004 for the Texas Historic Marker Application and an excerpt describing the house “The 1950 Mary Wood and Hugo V. Neuhaus, Jr., House is a one-story, steel and wood-framed, flat-roofed, glass-and-brick-walled modem pavilion that reflects the influence of Ludwig Mies van der Robe and Philip […]

From Wiehle-Carr: Set far back from the street, this superior two-story modern residence was designed for a sculptor (EV Staude) and her husband by one of LA’s premier architects of the post World War 2 period. A working studio at the rear of the property by Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced designer Ted van Fossen had preceded […]